1971 Camaro Radiator - Cool,Calm & Collected

In the last few issues of Camaro Performers magazine we’ve sprinkled Project Orange Krate with some simple upgrades here and there—mostly esthetics, really. In fact, in the last issue we brightened up the back of our second-gen with some LED taillights from Dakota Digital and classed up the panel with Marquez Design taillight housings and lenses. The outcome looks pretty sweet and gives our project car a bit of it’s own identity.

2/18

If you go back to late last year, you may remember we armed the car with a 427-inch World Product’s small-block hosting upwards of 460 hp. Right off the bat we knew there was no way the measly radiator that came with the car would be capable of keeping our engine temps in check, especially with what we have in store for this ride. It will see a good amount of abuse on every autocross and road course that will have us. Not to mention we’ll be doing a good amount of long-distance street driving. Stop-and-go traffic alone is enough to play havoc on any ride equipped with a high-performance engine, especially in the summer months— it's the time of year when our cars get the most use.

With all this taken into consideration, we're going to need a radiator that can handle all that we’ll be dishing out. It has to look good too. So we got in touch with the crew at Be Cool and told them what we had in store for our project. Before committing to send over just any radiator that would fit our ‘71, they asked a plethora of questions regarding engine displacement, transmission type, what kind of driving we had planned, and if the car was equipped with air conditioning.

3/18

Were all these questions really necessary? You bet. They told us the importance of not only having enough cooling capacity for the amount of horsepower we had under the hood, but knowing our driving habits would also help them determine which cooling system would best suit our needs.

After all was said and done, they sent out the Super Street Series Radiator Module Kit for the ’70-81 Camaro. We chose to go for the natural finish (PN 82010 Automatic Transmission) kit, but for those who want a more show-car look, it comes in a polished finish as well.

The radiator kit was a very simple install. In fact, it was only a couple of hours from start to finish. The instructions were easy to follow, and with the fan wiring harness clearly labeled, even the electrical aspect was a breeze.

After following Be Cool’s radiator filling instructions (there really is more to it than just adding coolant, so if you want everything working properly, follow the included instructions before you fire up your engine), we took the car out for an extended drive and were thrilled to report the temp gauge never surpassed the 180 degree mark.

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For the first bit of business, Source Interlink Tech Center Manager Jason Scudellari bolted up the fans using the two supplied brackets.

Before tightening in place, be sure to get it centered by using a tape measure.

Here’s the Be Cool Super Street Series Natural Finish Radiator Module Kit for the ‘70-81 Camaro (PN 82010 - Automatic Transmission, MSRP $1699.95). It’s 100 percent pressure-tested and features a dual one-inch core radiator and comes with a diamond-cut aluminum recovery tank, billet aluminum radiator cap, dual 11-inch, high-torque 2780 CFM fans, wiring harness, and fan mounting brackets. It also comes with a one-year warranty and Be Cool guarantees cooling for up to 700 hp or they’ll buy it back from you.

The kit comes with this mounting bracket designed to bend as needed and bolts to the core support. Just mark it where you’ll need to make your bend and drill a hole in the top of the bracket and support.

With the fans centered on the back of the radiator, you can see how the four bolts mount to the supplied brackets

Following the simple wiring diagram for the fans was super easy. It’s pretty much impossible to get lost as each wire is clearly labeled as to where they go.

From there, we screwed the temperature sensor from the fans onto the manifold. Even the sending unit wires were labeled “Sending Unit.”

With the radiator sitting in place, it was time to install the two electric fan relays. Jason tucked ours behind the battery on the inside of the fender well. We don’t want unsightly wires hanging throughout he engine bay.

The Module Kit comes with this billet aluminum recovery tank and mounting brackets. We took advantage of some pre-existing holes in our inner fender wells for the installation spot. You may be able to find an area on your core support, but we have other plans for ours.

Before dropping in the radiator, Jason loosened up the transmission cooling line fittings. It’s just easier to get to them while it’s still out. As a side note: Don’t toss the stock rubber feet from the bottom radiator mounting brackets. New ones didn’t come with the kit and you don’t want to go without them.

Next, Jason found a stealthy spot for the fans’ ground wires on the inside of the radiator core support.

Since we didn’t pull out a stock radiator from our second-gen, and the fact that we are running an automatic transmission, we had to bend and flair some 5/16-inch hard line to run to the radiator’s internal automatic trans cooler. If you were to pull out a stock radiator, all the fittings and lines would bolt right up to the Be Cool radiator and you could skip this step. Depending on the condition of your existing hard line though, it may be a good idea to swap out the old stuff for some new line.

We bent the line nice and tight so it fit snug along the inside of the radiator, then used hose clamps to attach the rubber hose from the transmission to the new hard line.

Earlier we showed you the mounting bracket that comes with the Be Cool radiator. Normally we’d go ahead and just use that, but this car will be loaded with custom pieces throughout, so Peter Newell at Competition Specialties in Walpole, Massachusetts (www.competition-specialties.com) fabbed up this totally trick mounting piece. He even hooked up Orange Krate with his private stash of Bow-Tie head bolts.

Jason then used a double-flair tool in order to create a proper seal where the 5/16-inch transmission hard line bolts up to the radiator fitting.

Here you get a good look at the quality welding and craftsmanship that goes into the Be Cool radiator. Basically all that was left to do was hook up some 3/8-inch hose to run from the filler neck outlet to the nipple on the bottom of the recovery tank. Before adding coolant, follow the radiator filling instructions included in the kit. Be Cool recommends using 50 percent antifreeze and 50 percent water. Always use a major brand’s aluminum-compatible antifreeze, and if possible, distilled water. Following these steps will give you maximum corrosion resistance

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